BHUBANESWAR: Sleuths of Bhubaneswar Vigilance Division on Thursday caught senior assistant at the office of Director of Mines Bipin Bihari Mohanty while accepting bribe from a person of Ganjam district to grant a prospective licence.Sources said Mohanty had demanded `5,000 from one Sayed Mubark of Aska Road to grant prospective licence for decorative stone over an area of 5.36 acre in Mahuda village under Kukudakhandi tehsil in Ganjam district.
Mubark had submitted an application at the mining office in Berhampur. After completing all formalities, the mining officer of Ganjam Circle submitted the application with relevant documents to the Director Mines, Odisha for approval. A Vigilance official said the file was received by Mohanty who did not take any tangible action with an ulterior motive. When Mubarak met him, he demanded bribe to process the file. He was caught red-handed in his office chamber while accepting the bribe.